{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T15:41:48Z","timestamp":1791906108230,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":61,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,16]],"date-time":"2021-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639612800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The vestibular system is vital for proper balance perception, and its dysfunction contributes significantly to fall-related injuries, especially in the elderly. Vestibular ganglion neurons innervate vestibular hair cells at the periphery and vestibular nuclei and the uvula and nodule of the cerebellum centrally. During aging, these vestibular ganglion neurons degenerate, impairing vestibular function. A complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in neurosensory cell survival in the vestibular system is unknown. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is specifically required for the survival of vestibular ganglion neurons, as its loss leads to early neuronal death. <jats:italic>Bdnf<\/jats:italic> null mice die within 3 weeks of birth, preventing the study of the long-term effects on target cells. We use <jats:italic>Pax2<\/jats:italic>-cre to conditionally knock out <jats:italic>Bdnf<\/jats:italic>, allowing mice survival to approximately 6 months of age. We show that a long-term loss of <jats:italic>Bdnf<\/jats:italic> leads to a significant reduction in the number of vestibular ganglion neurons and a reduction in the number of vestibular hair cells. There was no significant decrease in the central targets lateral vestibular nucleus (LVN) or the cerebellum at 6 months. This suggests that the connectivity between central target cells and other neurons suffices to prevent their loss despite vestibular hair cell and ganglion neuron loss. Whether the central neurons would undergo eventual degeneration in the absence of <jats:italic>Bdnf<\/jats:italic> remains to be determined.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2021.768456","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,16]],"date-time":"2021-12-16T14:02:55Z","timestamp":1639663375000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Sustained Loss of Bdnf Affects Peripheral but Not Central Vestibular Targets"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Karen L.","family":"Elliott","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jennifer","family":"Kersigo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeong Han","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ebenezer N.","family":"Yamoah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bernd","family":"Fritzsch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2017.00391","article-title":"Age-related vestibular loss: current understanding and future research directions","volume":"7","author":"Allen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front Neurol."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"315","DOI":"10.1002\/9781118772034.ch16","article-title":"Aging-Related Balance Impairment and Hearing Loss","author":"Fattal","year":"2018","journal-title":"The Wiley Handbook on the Aging Mind and Brain."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"38","DOI":"10.1093\/ageing\/aft129","article-title":"Peripheral vestibular dysfunction is prevalent in older adults experiencing multiple non-syncopal falls versus age-matched non-fallers: a pilot study","volume":"43","author":"Liston","year":"2014","journal-title":"Age Ageing."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"116","DOI":"10.1097\/00005373-200101000-00021","article-title":"Geriatric falls: injury severity is high and disproportionate to mechanism","volume":"50","author":"Sterling","year":"2001","journal-title":"J Trauma."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.3233\/VES-1990-1109","article-title":"Age-related changes in human posture control: motor coordination tests","volume":"1","author":"Peterka","year":"1990","journal-title":"J Vestib Res."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"73","DOI":"10.3233\/VES-1990-1108","article-title":"Age-related changes in human posture control: sensory organization tests","volume":"1","author":"Peterka","year":"1989","journal-title":"J Vestib Res"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"936","DOI":"10.1152\/jn.00307.2019","article-title":"Frequency-dependent integration of auditory and vestibular cues for self-motion perception","volume":"123","author":"Shayman","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Neurophysiol."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1177\/00034894001090S502","article-title":"Temporal bone studies of the human peripheral vestibular system: 1","volume":"109","year":"2000","journal-title":"Normative vestibular hair cell data. 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